今年三月份的全美就業報告應該不會讓特朗普感到開心，然而至少有一個行業在他至今短短幾個月的任期內蓬勃復興了起來。只不過當特朗普信誓旦旦地承諾增加就業機會時，他腦子里想的肯定不包括這個行業。

以華爾街為大本營的美國金融業如今已經發展到歷史上的最大規模，甚至超過了金融危機爆發前的水平。美國勞工統計局上周五發布的數據顯示，華爾街及全美金融行業的從業人數在今年三月首次超過了840萬人。

另一跡象也表明，自從2008年的金融危機導致美國各大銀行遭受重挫以來，華爾街雖然迄今仍未完全恢復元氣，但其體量已經超過了歷史任何時期。直到去年底，美國金融行業的規模仍然稍遜于2007年的鼎盛時期，那時美國共有839萬名金融從業者，而各大銀行的借貸泡沫也與其股票市值及資產一樣，上升到了十分危險的水平。

在金融危機爆發后，由于各種法規致使成本增加，加之利潤減少，華爾街各大行紛紛操刀裁員。直到最近，美國金融業才重新再次招募人手，這在一定程度上也是利率的上漲拉高了行業利潤的緣故。

自從去年11月特朗普當選以來，金融行業已經新增了67,000個工作崗位，這是1998年以來美國金融業招聘力度最大的五個月。

銀行業的復蘇更像是特朗普無心插柳的結果。因為特朗普在大選期間一直鼓吹要為美國帶回更多的藍領職位，而不是華爾街的白領崗位。特朗普在選舉期間經常指責華爾街與民主黨候選人希拉里過從甚密。當時特朗普有一句頗受歡迎的選舉口號——“把沼澤抽干”，影射了華爾街與華盛頓之間千絲萬縷的聯系。

然而自從特朗普勝選以來，他把好幾位曾在高盛工作的人士拉進了自己的顧問圈子。這種前后矛盾的做法令不少特朗普的支持者對其由愛轉恨。有人表示特朗普不僅沒有“抽干沼澤”，反而和華爾街的聯系更緊密了。而特朗普對這種指責則基本上緘口不答。

美國金融界就業數字的躍升之所以值得關注，不僅僅是由于華爾街的規模創下了歷史紀錄，還因為它貢獻了上個月就業新增總數的9%。今年3月，金融業新增加了9,000個左右的工作崗位，相比之下，零售業卻裁員29,000人之多。最終，今年3月的新增就業崗位總數為98,000個。

然而金融業就業數據的增長對于美國經濟來說未必是件好事，因為這有可能進一步拉大貧富差距。根據美國勞工統計局的數據，2016年，美國零售業工人的平均時薪只有10.07到12.99美元，而金融和保險業從業者的時薪至少比他們高出30%以上，平均在13.09到35.07美元之間。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

Donald Trump may not be celebrating March's disappointing jobs report. But at least one U.S. industry is thriving under his presidency—and it's one Trump most certainly did not have in mind when he promised to create more jobs.

The American finance industry that calls Wall Street home is now larger than ever before, even surpassing its highs before the financial crisis, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The number of people working on Wall Street and in financial jobs across the country exceeded 8.4 million for the first time in March, the BLS reported Friday.

It's another sign that more than six years after the 2008 market crash that sent American banks into a tailspin, Wall Street has not only fully recovered, but it is stronger than ever. Until this year, the U.S. financial industry remained smaller than at its peak in 2007, when it had 8.39 million employees, as a risky lending boom and rising stock market expanded the ranks of banks along with their bottom lines.

But while banks had shrunk their head counts in the wake of the Great Recession, with costly regulations and slimmer profits leading to layoffs, the financial industry has been bulking up again lately, propelled in part by rising interest rates that have lifted earnings.

In fact, since November when President Trump's election, the financial sector has added some 67,000 jobs—the most jobs the industry has added during the same five-month period since 1998.

Yet boosting the banking industry has likely been an unintended consequence for President Trump, whose campaign pledges to put Americans back to work focused on creating blue-collar manufacturing jobs, not white-collar Wall Street ones. The commander-in-chief often criticized Wall Street for its ties to then-Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, while on the campaign trail. One of Trump's favorite slogans at the time was "Drain the Swamp"—a kind of catch-all phrase that also encompassed Washington's ties to Wall Street.

Since Trump was elected President, however, he has added multiple Goldman Sachs (gs, -0.33%) alumni to his circle of advisors. The seeming contradiction has led some of his former supporters to turn against him, saying Trump has instead deepened his ties to Wall Street, an accusation the President has largely shrugged off.

But the jump in the finance sector's employment figures is worth noting not only because the Wall Street's size is at an all-time high, but also because it contributed 9% of last month's total job gains. The finance industry grew by some 9,000 jobs in March while retailers shed 29,000, resulting in a total of 98,000 jobs added in the month.

Still, the growth in financial jobs is not necessarily good news for the American economy, as it is likely to exacerbate the wealth gap, a problem also known as income inequality. While workers in the retail industry earned between $10.07 to $12.99, on average, in 2016, those in the finance and insurance industry earned at least 30% more, with average wages between $13.09 to $35.07, according to BLS data.